China EVs & More

Tu and Lei start the podcast out with a discussion on the China take rate on NEVs exceeding 50% in July for the first time. The discussion then shifts to reports that the Biden administration is looking at restricting Chinese connected, intelligent driving technology for use on US roads including the ability to collect data on Americans. They project how these restrictions may or may not be mimicked by the UK and EU, two places that also have voiced concerns re: national security, data security and privacy. They move onto Audi potentially not using their logo for their new Chinese EVs and evolves into a more detailed discussion about Audi's history in China. Tu ends the podcast clearing up a bad take from an American analyst who is trying to drum up clicks by writing about the Chinese govt wanting to kick all the foreign automakers out of China. 

The podcast begins with a review of July sales by Lei and then they both transition into a discussion about the upcoming important product launches and why they are important to those Chinese brands. They both transition the discussion over to the BYD partnership with Uber that was announced this week. They piggyback off this BYD discussion to also talk about the rumor that BYD will be entering the Canadian market which moves into a broader discussion on BYD and why they are the likeliest EV company to succeed long-term. Lei then moves into a discussion on how companies have begun to lay off staff at the tier 1s. The podcast ends with a deep dive on how the Rivian VW Group tie-up could lead to VW Group abandoning Cariad and a deeper discussion on how Stellantis and VW may have too many brands to manage. Tu also discusses the WSJ post about Tesla FSD in the US and how there's a lack of transparency in the US on whether or not it's causing the accidents that Tesla vehicles are involved in. They both compare FSD to some of the Chinese intelligent driving systems currently on offer by China EV Inc. 

Tu and Lei begin the podcast talking about the US IPO announcements for Pony AI and WeRide, two Chinese autonomous vehicle (robotaxi) startups. This leads to a broader discussion about autonomous vehicles and regulation in the US and China. Tu then moves on asking Lei what he knows about Windrose, the Chinese electric semi-truck manufacturer that plans to build semis in the US. Tu posits that this could be push that opens the door for more Chinese players to mannufacture in the US. Tu then speculates that should Kamala Harris win the election she may want to develop her own set of policies toward Chinese EVs, specifically on the manufacturing in the US side. Tu brings up a post in his newsletter about battery pricing below $100 in China where OEMs can build EVs profitably. Tu closes out the show with his brief experience riding in a Lucid Air Sapphire and it's absolutely ridiculous acceleration. 

Tu and Lei start out this podcast with a broad discussion about how virtually all the foreign legacy automakers are doing so poorly in China with Tu detailing Porsche's recent, severe challenges. Tu and Lei then move onto Xiaomi's production license despite the overcapacity in China. Tu briefly explains how this could happen. Tu and Lei take a few minutes to discuss how business has evolved in China the last several years and how China's maturity as an economy makes it tougher than before to get out of economic slumps. Tu switches gears to talk about BYD's manufacturing footprint including the newest announcement about building in Turkey. Tu talks about the strategic importance of location of Turkey relative to the European, Middle Eastern and African markets. The podcast ends with Tu and Lei talking about the latest goings on in the autonomous vehicle sector. Lei details his latest experience riding some robotaxis while in China and they both discuss the importance of having a clean record because of their desires to IPO in the near future. 

Tu and Lei unpack who they think could be the winners and losers from the recently announced EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and how they may react to tariffs being considered in other markets. Tu and Lei then look a bit forward to what they expect to see later this year as we get past summer and move towards the always exciting year-end sales dash including the impact some of the new vehicles scheduled to begin delivery will have on the competitive landscape.The discussion moves over to the VW Group investment and partnership announcement with Rivian as the two dissect how the partnership may work. Tu raises questions about both Cariad's and Scout's future place in the VW Group hierarchy now that they've effectively partnered with two strong EV startups in China and in the ROW - rest of the world. Lei spends a few minutes talking about his visit to NIO's Hefei factory and what he saw. The podcast ends with Lei giving his take on the new pilots being offered by WeRide and Baidu in Beijing from the Daxing airport to downtown.  

Tu starts the podcast out talking about his experience at the MOVE London event where he hosted two panel discussions. Lei then pivots to update everyone on the latest news about potential tariffs the Chinese govt are considering in retaliation for the EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. Tu and Lei then take a few moments to digest and unpack what it all means. They move onto the latest partnership announcement between JLR and Chery and how this falls in line with Stellantis and Volkswagen both partnering with local Chinese manufacturers. Tu talks about how these partnerships may create a reliance on the companies doing well in both regions in order for the partnerships to be successful. Tu and Lei close out the podcast with a discussion about FSD coming to China, what their domestic competitors think and updates on a few other Chinese AV startups.

Tu and Lei begin this podcast with a quick download of the EU tariffs, who was slapped with what and who the winners are. They also take a step back to discuss who currently exports the most to the EU and how the tariffs may affect their quantities. They then move over to the rumored retaliation from the Chinese govt and who would feel free brunt of those retaliatory measures. Lei then moves the conversation over to Tu's EV car rental for his trip to California and Tu talks in details about the good, the bad and the ugly about his few days driving a Kia Niro EV. They close the podcast with a discussion on how the tariffs, both exporting to AND from, could affect VW Group's diverse set of brands, manufacturing bases and ultimately their long-term competitiveness. 

Tu and Lei start out by discussing a provocative statement from Richard Yu, the Huawei executive in charge of their intelligent driving, who said in a much less kind way that Huawei's system would beat Tesla's FSD. They then talk more broadly about the current systems out there from other Chinese EV makers and agree that FSD will have it's hands full in the China market and is NOT the clear leader once it finally launches.The topic moves over to all the recent news from automakers about their latest generation small displacement high efficiency enginers, specifically hybrid engines. With announcements from BYD, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru and others.Tu then shifts over to his guest appearance on John McElroy's Autoline live show and the question that john posed to him. Tu and Lei move on and take a deeper dive into Porsche, it's recent hybrid 911 unveil and it's sales in China. Tu closes the podcast out with a few updates on Detroit and the unveiling and rebranding of the old train station into the new Michigan Central that is supposed to concentrate and put a focus on all the innovation that's happening in the city / state. 

This podcast starts with a discussion on the NEV take rate hitting 52% and Tu points out that it's a massive number that is also getting help from the steep dropoff of ICE sales. They also both take a few moments to discuss the softness in demand that Tesla is feeling and how its likely adding pressure for them to continue to cut prices in order to keep the factory running and keep factory utilization high.They then also scrutinize Li Auto's original aggressive 2024 sales forecast and how that's been dialed back as well. Tu again reiterates that within the next couple years, Chinese IP will be in European branded vehicles both sold in China and Europe. The conversation then shifts to the potential additional EU tariffs on Chinese imported EVs and which brands and products will likely be affected and retaliated on. Tu closes out the podcast with a summary of a Reuters interview of Carlos Tavares, Stellantis Global CEO. 

Tu and Lei start the podcast out by debating about the recent increased tariff announcements made by the Biden Administration and whether its all politics or if there is some real fear about the US Three not being able to compete. They move that discussion over to BYD having its first global launch of a passenger vehicle outside of China. It turns into a broader discussion about their products, how they're suited (or not) to foreign markets and how said products could possibly perform outside of China.Tu flips the script and pushes the conversation from tariffs to subsidies on the US side and points to Tesla being a major recipient of them. They both agree that battery swapping isn't a flash in the pan and is something, at least in China, is a viable option for electric vehicles. The podcast ends with a discussion on some of the latest announcements and unveils by Baidu Apollo with the RT6 L4 robotaxi and Pony's pilot pushing into Beijing's CBD area.